Lanson Gate
Lanson Gate (nicknamed Lance, Lancelot, Porcupine, or Dragon Breath by others) is the Son of Kratos, the God of Strength, and Nalia Gate, a descendant of both the Spartoi (men sown from the teeth of a dragon that had been killed by the hero Cadmus) of Thebes and the House of Pelops. This unique ancestry has granted Lanson superhuman strength and the ability to breathe fire (which he is shy about), but has unfortunately left him with the curse of the Pelops lineage. He is the Main Protagonist of The Gate Chronicles, and despite being very inexperienced at the beginning of his adventures he eventually becomes one of the strongest demigods at Camp Half-Blood by the end of the series. He also appears in the plots of other stories as well, either as a cameo or a full-fledged participant. Origins The God of Strength met Lanson’s mother at a spot they both loved: the Sunburst Gym in Brooklyn. It was there that Nalia Gate, a 24-year-old professional gymnast and renowned javelin thrower, would keep her body up to speed. One day – when Kratos was in the guise of a young African American man – he entered the Gym and spotted Nalia, who had come in earlier than usual. He was immediately infatuated with her and began to date her. Nalia was interested in Kratos as well, but she wanted to make sure that he really loved her and not just her body, so she told him if he could show her a true symbol of strength than she they could further develop their relationship. Kratos left the Sunburst Gym and didn’t return for months, causing Nalia to think that he had left her for somebody else and she became distraught. However, as she walked home from the Gym one day Kratos drove up to her in a red SUV, and asked her to get in. Nalia, for reasons unknown, knew that she should get in the car and the god drove them far off into the country. When he finally stopped the car, they were at the edge of a forest. Nalia asked him what was he doing and Kratos pointed to a building that took her breath away: standing there was a beautiful stone house, built in the shade of the trees. Kratos told her that he had spent the last six months building her that house to show the loving strength he had for her. He then reached into the back seat of the car and pulled out a beautiful gold lance, which he had made for her as well. Nalia was so overjoyed that she led Kratos into the house and the two made love to each other. However, in the morning she noticed that Kratos seemed nervous. He told her that the man he worked for was angry because he had used resources he was not supposed to build her the house and lance, and that he would come soon to take them back, and that she should forget about him and marry someone else to keep herself safe. When Nalia began to protest this, he told her that she had to do it, or she could die. Sobbing, she agreed to do this. Then to her amazement, Kratos simply floated into dust and disappeared. Nine months later, Nalia gave birth to a baby boy that had Kratos’ rusty red eyes and spiky black hair. She decided to name him Lanson, after the lance Kratos had made for her. A year later she married a rich land developer, and gave birth to a daughter by him. Her husband and mortal daughter came to live in the house that Kratos had built for her, causing the God great unease. But then tragedy struck. While Nalia’s husband loved her and their daughter, he despised Lanson, who he saw as a bastard child. One day, Lanson had been playing around on the stairs with his stepfather’s model airplane set when he accidently dropped it and it broke. His stepfather became furious, and was about to fling him down the stairs when Nalia came down the hallway and saw what was about to happen. She jumped in the way and was pushed instead, and fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Kratos saw this and was so upset that he made the house collapse in on itself, killing the stepfather (the daughter had been at her grandparent’s house and thus didn’t die) and whisked his son off to stay with his mother’s parents. But Lanson’s grandfather and grandmother never showed him the same love they gave to his sister Layla, and when he was three they sent him to the Orphanage. Pre-History (During The Last Olympian) When Morpheus made all of the mortals fall asleep during the Second Great War, a fifteen-year-old Lanson (who had been on a Field Trip at the Jefferson Building) was fully aware of everything going on. However, he thought he was actually having a dream and even witnessed Percy Jackson climbing the Flying Pig while on top of the Jefferson Building. However, a gust from the Pig’s wings flung him hard against a wall, knocking him unconscious. When he came too, he was being shaken by his teacher and had completely forgotten about the events of The Last Olympian. Appears In Main Series *''The Unremarkable Times of Lanson Gate '' *''Lanson Gate and the Spirits of Mischief '' *''Lanson Gate and the Steeds of Helios '' *''Lanson Gate and the Hurricane Dog'' *''Lanson Gate and the Calydonian Boar Hunt'' Other Stories *''Lanson Gate and the Backwards Centaurs (The Olympian League Origin Story)'' *''The Olympian Games II '' *''A Fox in the Night '' *''Welcome to Prime Time, Jerk! '' Personality Lanson is highly sarcastic and a natural born comedian, and is often called jocular by many demigods at Camp Half-Blood. However, his comical mood also makes him a doubtful person, and he rarely takes things seriously. He does have his moments of seriousness, however, and can sometimes be the only serious person in a room. He is a laidback person, and rarely gets overexcited or panicky unless the situation is severe. He rarely listens to other people’s plans as he charges into battle, preferring to ‘make it up as he goes along’. Lanson is also extremely loyal to his friends, and always keeps his promises. Fatal Flaw Lanson’s willpower is what usually helps him complete all of his quests, but it is also his greatest weakness. His willpower causes him to rush into traps because he doesn’t reason out the danger, making him somewhat of a liability when working with other people. Fears Lanson is downright terrified of mannequins, dolls, and action figures due to a traumatizing experience in his childhood when he was locked in a doll factory at the age of six. When one of these plastic figurines enters his immediate area, Lanson will either freeze up or run away until the doll/mannequin/action figure is removed. Curse of Pelops Lanson’s mother’s side of the family can trace their lineage not only from one of the Spartoi of Thebes but also the House of Pelops. Pelops was once cut up and cooked for the gods as a meal by his father Tantalus, but all of the other immortals except Demeter knew it was the boy and recoiled from the meal. Demeter, in her grief over her daughter Persephone becoming the Queen of the Underworld, ate one of Pelops shoulders. Pelops was resurrected by the gods after his father was punished, and given an ivory shoulder to replace the one Demeter had eaten. The boy lived a normal life (even becoming a friend of Poseidon and receiving a fine chariot and team of horses from the sea-god) until he fell in love with Hippodameia, the daughter of King Oenomaus in Pisa, Elis. Oenomaus wouldn’t let anyone court his daughter unless they could beat him in a chariot race. Pelops asked Myrtilus, the King’s charioteer, to loosen the wheels so they king could lose and Pelops would let him spend one night with Hippodameia. Myrtilus agreed to this and Pelops won Hippodameia as his wife, but he broke his promise to the charioteer. In anger, Myrtilus cursed Pelops and his lineage. Lanson learns that he is connected to the House Pelops and inherited it’s curse in Lanson Gate and the Steeds of Helios. The curse causes Lanson to feel incredibly weak in times of triumph, as well as making it easier for people to hate him if they already have a problem with him or ruining his chance for glory. This leaves Lanson vulnerable at the worst possible times, even though it wont kill him outright. The curse is able to be overcame, however, for brief periods but can’t be removed outright. Appearance Lanson Gate is a 5 feet, 11 inches tall African-American. He has naturally spiky black hair and rusty red eyes he inherited from his father (even though they appear orange when in direct sunlight). Despite having naturally developed strength and muscles he still mildly works out, resulting in him having a light but decent build. Lanson doesn’t think that working out and strength should be taken to insane levels, like the bodybuilders on television. His usual outfit consists of sneakers, black jeans, any color T-Shirt, and his favorite black/red jacket (now replaced with his pure white ski jacket). You will never see him in shorts, sandals, coats, or hoodies at any time during the summer or winter because he finds them uncomfortable. If it’s cold, you’ll probably see him put on a jacket. Abilities Demigod Abilities Like all other demigods, Lanson was born with a series of innate abilities that are heavily influenced by both his Greek ancestry and his godly parent. He has also gained abilities that have become commonplace in his skillset. But even before he reached Camp Half-Blood, he always had above average strength compared to those around him. *'ADHD': Lanson has ADHD, which acts as his natural-born battle reflex. *'Dyslexia': Lanson has Dyslexia like most demigods, which is because his brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek instead of English. His form of Dyslexia also causes him to stammer when speaking to large groups of people. *'Superhuman Strength': As a son of Kratos, Lanson has above average human strength. He is able to punch through or lift many different types of materials throughout The Gate Chronicles, including wood, iron, and steel. He even wrestled Hercules and won, and is the strongest person at Camp Half-Blood. *'Force Manipulation': As a son of Kratos, Lanson can manipulate the strength of objects and even people when he concentrates. He can use this to make a person either weaker or stronger (the latter involves him lending his own strength temporarily while the former lets him absorb the strength for a limited time). *'Power Analyzing': As a son of Kratos, Lanson can automatically tell how powerful someone is just by glancing at them, and can compare his own strength or the people’s around him to it with ease. *'Styx Immunity': Because Lanson’s grandmother (on the godly side) is the River Styx, he is immune to the waters of the Underworld river and can traverse them safely. However, this also causes him to be unable to gain the Curse of Achilles either. *'Fire Breath': Lanson is a descendant of one of the original five Spartoi – men grown from the teeth of a dragon – that helped build the city of Thebes. Because of this, he has the inborn ability to breath fire. Continue use of it drains him, and he must eat charcoal to keep the fire within his stomach ignited or he’ll have difficulties breathing the flames (however, spicy food can somewhat also generate this effect). *'Blessing of Kratos': In the climax of Lanson Gate and the Steeds of Helios, Kratos grants his son wings, enabling him to fly. Like his Fire Breath, his wings drains his stamina moderately and if he uses them for too long he can cause serious damage to his spine. They appear as a pure white ski jacket when not in use. Weapon Abilities Lanson’s main weapons are Ebony and Ivory, two Greek cestuses (boxing gloves made from metal and leather). They are both created out of Eternal Silver, a very rare metal that can harm both monsters and gods but not mortals. One of them has a black porcupine symbol on it while the other has a white porcupine symbol, resulting in the names Ebony and Ivory. Lanson was given these as a gift by the Kobaioi Nick and Trick when he let them go, and he has been using it ever since. Like other demigod weapons, he can use Ebony and Ivory as conduits for his own power. *'Fléchette': An unique ability of Ebony and Ivory, and what makes up for Lanson’s powers being more short-ranged than long-ranged. The cestuses are able to shoot out small quill-like fléchettes at an opponent. However, they are fairly underpowered and can only kill the weakest of monsters. *'Pointed Knuckles': The knuckles of the cestuses are sharpened, allowing Lanson to strike monsters harder and effectively through successful puncture strikes. *'Earth Pound': An exclusive power. By channeling all of his strength into the cestuses and slamming his fists into the ground, Lanson can cause the ground to shake or even crack as a shockwave blasts people back. Doing this, however, is incredibly taxing and he can only do this once every few days. Pets Lanson has cared for a number of divine creatures, but he has adopted only one as his permanent pet. Laelaps Laelaps is the fastest dog alive that always catches whatever he is chasing. He became Lanson’s personal pet at the end of Lanson Gate and the Hurricane Dog after the former saved him from the shade of the brilliant demigod hunter Cephalus. He has the appearance of an Irish Setter, and although he can’t speak English he is incredibly smart and capable of understanding many languages and concepts. His archenemy was the Teumessian Fox, which he finally caught with the aid of Lanson. Because of this, he now seems him as his guardian and stays with the son of Kratos in his apartment in Brooklyn. Category:Original Character Category:Males Category:IceFireWarden0 Category:The Gate Chronicles Category:Children of Kratos Category:Greek Demigod